


it cuts my security

by broadway_hufflepuff



Series: damn good babysitter [4]
Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Dustin Henderson is a Good Friend, Gen, Good Babysitter Steve Harrington, Hurt Steve Harrington, Lucas Sinclair Is a Good Friend, Maxine "Max" Mayfield is a Good Friend, Mike Wheeler Tries, Mike Wheeler is a good friend, No Romance, No Slash, Panic Attacks, Post-Season/Series 03, Steve Harrington Has PTSD, Steve Harrington-centric
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-06
Updated: 2020-01-06
Packaged: 2021-02-27 04:02:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,368
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22140721
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/broadway_hufflepuff/pseuds/broadway_hufflepuff
Summary: Steve looked horrible. His trademark hair was matted down on his forehead in sweat, and his eyes were wild: darting back and forth. “Hey, guys,” he croaked. His voice came out strained, a weak sound.Dustin made a noise in his throat. “Steve, what happened?”
Relationships: Steve Harrington & Dustin Henderson, Steve Harrington & Lucas Sinclair, Steve Harrington & Maxine "Max" Mayfield, Steve Harrington & Mike Wheeler, Steve Harrington & The Party
Series: damn good babysitter [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1593616
Comments: 14
Kudos: 418





	it cuts my security

**Author's Note:**

> Hey! I haven't posted in a while, but I FINALLY finished rewatching Stranger Things for the second time and ohmygoodness, I really wanted to write this!
> 
> WARNING:  
> Panic attacks do happen in this, and if you feel this could trigger anxiety, please do not read: be mindful of your mental health :) 
> 
> The title is a line from Steve's honorary theme song:"Sunglasses at Night" by Corey Hart. I felt like it really wrapped the fic together nicely.
> 
> All characters belong to Stranger Things, NOT ME!
> 
> Per usual, please do not repost!  
> Thank you!

“Guys,” said Dustin, on the way to school one morning, “I’m pretty fucking worried about Steve.”

Mike snorted. “Steve _Harrington?_ The guy’s, like, insanely popular. I’m sure he’ll be fine.” He pedaled a little faster, using one hand to lift his hair out of his eyes.

Lucas frowned, hands tightening on the handles of his bike. “I mean. Max is a badass, but she’s not always okay,” he reminded them. “Especially since Starcourt.”

Wincing, Mike’s bike screeched to a stop. “She’s really not doing alright?”

“You know this, Mike,” Dustin hissed. He slowed down next to Lucas, hat shading his eyes from the morning sun. “Speaking of Max. We should probably pick her up, right?”

It had become a routine; since Will and El moved: Steve would swing by their houses every morning before school, picking up Mike and Lucas first, then Dustin, then Max. But that morning, Steve had failed to show up.

“I don’t like Max’s house,” said Dustin, starting to pedal again. “It’s, like- it gives me weird feelings.”

“Leave your sexual fantasies _out_ of this conversation,” Lucas joked. 

Dustin flipped him off. “Shit. I just meant- I love Max, alright? But her life seems… _off._ Like everyone’s hiding something.”

“Yeah,” agreed Mike. They pulled up in front of Max’s house.

She was already on her porch.

“That’s another thing,” Dustin whispered, “Her parents don’t even know us. Do they even care where their daughter’s going off to?”

Max had her skateboard under her arm and made her way down the walk, red hair down and falling over her shoulders. She looked concerned.

“Where’s Steve?” she asked, in lieu of greeting. 

“Never showed up,” Mike answered, at the same time Dustin asked “Why? Have you heard from him?

Max frowned, her blue eyes narrowed. “He- he called this morning, like usual- reminding me to get ready, you know, since I always oversleep-”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa,” Lucas said, slinging an arm over Max’s shoulders gently. “Back up… Steve _did_ call this morning?”

Max nodded. “Yeah… I guess I figured that meant he was going to pick us up, per usual.”

Dustin’s face contorted into a grimace. “I don’t have a good feeling about this, guys. I think something’s wrong.”

Mike opened his mouth to protest, but Max cut in.

“Maybe we should go check on him,” she suggested, placing one hand on her hip. “Y’know, just to be sure.”

She dropped her skateboard and put her foot on top of it, looking at the boys expectantly. 

“Ugh,” Mike whined, “Fine.” He hopped on his bike. “To Steve’s it is, I guess.”

* * *

By the time they reached Steve’s house, they had definitely already been marked absent for class. 

Dustin was the first one to drop his bicycle on the Harrington’s pristine yard, Max at his tail. Lucas and Mike were more skeptical.

“The only car in the driveway is Steve’s,” noted Lucas from behind, “So he’s obviously home.”

“Maybe he fell asleep?” offered Mike. He had his arms crossed. “That’s why he’s late?”

Max’s hand reached up to knock.

“I don’t know,” Dustin muttered, “It’s not like him. Not when it comes to driving us places.”

“No one’s answering,” Max said. 

Lucas put a hand on her shoulder. “Try the door-knocky thing.”

Mike reached up and curled his fingers around the brass knocker. 

_Pound._

_Pound._

_Pound._

He knocked three times.

There was a shuffling coming from inside, and the teens straightened, eyes alert. Dustin’s hair was spilling out from under his hat as he reached to knock again.

Before his hand could even hit the wood, the door swung open.

 _“Steve?”_ Max practically yelled, taking in the sight in front of her. “What the _hell_ happened to you? _”_

Steve looked _horrible._ His trademark hair was matted down on his forehead in sweat, and his eyes were wild: darting back and forth. “Hey, guys,” he croaked. His voice came out strained, a weak sound.

Dustin made a noise in his throat. “Steve, what happened?”

Steve laughed, a dry sound. “Nothing. I- oh, no. Fuck. What time is it? Oh, shit,” he backed away from the door. “Did I- I was supposed to pick you up for school, wasn’t I?”

“Yeah,” Lucas said slowly, but he studied Steve’s face closely. “Hey, Harrington, let’s… let’s sit, okay? You wanna tell us what’s going on?

Mike opened the door wider and Dustin followed Steve into the living room.

“Nothing’s going on,” rushed Steve. “Just a little scare, that’s all. Heard a noise. Light’s flickered a bit.”

Mike’s eyes widened. He glanced around sharply. “It wasn’t…?”

Steve shuddered. “Nah. No, I was just being paranoid. The lightbulb blew. That’s all.”

“You’re sure?” Mike pressed.

Steve exhaled, running a hand down his pale face. “Yeah. Yes. I’m sure.”

Lucas sat down on the couch. “So… what’s wrong, then?”

“Panic attack.”

The boys all spun around. They’d forgotten Max was there. 

Leaning against the wall, her eyes were empty, lost. 

Steve choked. “Excuse me?” 

“It was a panic attack, wasn’t it?” asked Max. Her words were slow and gentle. 

“I don’t- what is that?” stuttered Steve. 

Max smiled. “Tell me what happened, alright?”

Steve rolled his eyes, but his hands were still shaking. “Never mind, it’s stupid. Just- I’m okay. Get to school.”

 _“Steve,”_ Dustin scolded. “You piece of shit, we care about you. We’re not leaving until you tell us what happened.”

“Okay, Mom,” joked Steve. Dustin glared at him.

“You know, man, this is what you act like to _us_ all the time-”

 _“Enough_ with the bickering,” Max interrupted, Dustin’s gusto fading. 

“Just tell us,” Mike said. “Please. We won’t laugh.”

Lucas raised his right hand. “I swear.”

Steve trilled his lips and sighed. “Okay. Um. The light in the kitchen was- it was, like, flickering, you know? And I just thought, ‘holy shit, what if the gate’s been reopened,’ which is dumb, yeah, I know. But Robin didn’t answer her cell and I didn’t want to worry you guys. I just remember my vision got spotted and I felt like something was breathing down my neck- like I was going to _die_ , like he was _here.”_ Steve shivered. “Fuck, I’ve fucked it all up, haven’t I?

“No,” Mike said, “No. That’s- Max is right, that’s a panic attack.”

 _“Great,”_ Steve drawled, “How am I supposed to take care of you guys if I can’t even take care of myself?”

“It’s okay to need other people sometimes,” Max added. She looked sheepish. “I learned that when I met these guys. And panic attacks happen to a lot of people. It’s a relatively new thing to diagnose, and I can’t officially diagnose you because I’m not a doctor, but… you should take a visit.”

Lucas nodded in agreement. “Steve, you’re our _babysitter_ . Not our _parent._ You have to ask for help sometimes, you do realize that?”

“Shit, Steve,” whispered Dustin. “Man. You could have told me.”

“I didn’t want to worry you.”

The teens were quiet. 

Finally, it was Mike who spoke up. “Worrying is what we’re here for.” His voice was quiet. “We’re your friends, okay? And like, sure. We’re younger than you. But you took care of us. Now it’s _our_ turn to take care of you.”

Steve grinned, face gaining color. “That was… cheesy. Sweet, but cheesy. Does El know you’ve got that sort of poetic spirit in you?”

Mike looked at him darkly. “No. And I don’t _intend_ for her to find _out.”_

Steve laughed, but his eyes stopped on the clock. “Hey!” he yelled, “Dickheads, what the hell? School started an _hour_ ago!”

“We were helping you!” Lucas threw up his hands in defense.

“Jesus Christ,” muttered Steve. He stood up, taking his keys out of his pocket and throwing them in the air, landing a perfect catch in his palm. “Hop in the car. I’m driving you to school.”

Max rolled her eyes. “It’s fine. I can skateboard and the boys can-”

Steve popped his sunglasses on and pulled them down his nose to look at her. _“Hey._ I’m the reason you idiots are late, I’m going to get you there. You’re losing all your education, for crying out loud!”

Dustin beamed. “And Mom Steve is _back!”_

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! Comments/kudos do not go unappreciated :)


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